Apparatus fob forming glass articles



E. C; GMELIN;

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I3| l9l6.

1, 25,785. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lf E. c. GMELIN. APPARATUSTOR FDRMING GLASS ARTICLES. APPUCATION FILED JU'NE19. 1916. 1,325,785. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Alt]

bill

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE C. GMELIN, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed June 19, 1916. Serial No. 104,488.

glass for the purpose of making sign letters or the like.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide an improved method or process of forming letters or like articles from plates or sheets of glass, in which the out lines of the letters, characters or marks are made by distorting the glass so as to give a substantially concavo-convex cross section to the mark or letter; to provide an improved method of this character whereby sign letters or other similar articles made of glass may be quickly and cheaply pro duced; to provide an improved form of furnace for carrying on the process of making.

letters or like articles from plates or sheets of glass; and in general, to provide an improved apparatus and method which will be more fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention: 4

Figure 1 is a front view of my improved furnace;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a female die member for forming the letter E;

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged details of the male die members, which members are preferably made in sections, or so as to form only portions of the letter at a time;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the die shown in Fig. 4, with a plate of glass in position for forming and Fig. 8. is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the plate after it has been heated, and illustrating the action of the male forming dies.

The making of raised letters in plates of glass has been more or less commonly known, but the manufacture of such letters or similar articles has been more or less hrude and slow, and the plates of glass are apt to be cracked, or the completed letter would be apt to crack. In accordance with my invention, I provide an apparatus whereby such letters or other like articles may be easily and quickly made, with but little likelihood of loss in manufacture, and the completed letters are not apt to crack afterbeing taken from the furnace.

As shown in the drawings, 9 represents a furnace, which is preferably constructed with a flat bottom 10, and a substantially semi-circular top. One or more burners 12 are arranged at one side of the furnace. and oppositely disposed burners are arranged at the other side of the furnace. These burners are supplied with gas or other suitable fuel through a pipe 14, and the burners are provided with any suitable form of regulating valve. One or more vents or chimneys 15 extend up from the top of the furnace, these vents bein provided with dampers 16 to regulate the exhaust of the gases. The ends of the furnace are provided with doors 17 and 18. which are preferably balanced as indicated. and arranged to slide up and down. Each door is provided with an opening 19, having a slide 20 for covering the same. this slide being providedwvith a window formed of mica or other suitable transparent material.

' While the furnace may be used for forming or bending various articles madeof glass. its operation will be fully understood when described in connection with the forming of glass letters. The main die or forming plate 21 has a downwardly, extending rim 22, which is cut away to permit the flames or heat to pass underneath the plate when it is placed onthe floor of the furnace. The plate 21 as shown in this instance is provided with grooves or depressions 23 in the form of a letter E. A plate or sheet of glass 24:, from which the letter is to be formed, is placed on the die 21, and thedie with the plate thereon is then placed in the furnace after the burners have been lighted and the furnace heated. The doors are then closed, but the operator can inspect the interior of the furnace through the windows 20, and see when the glass plate has become sufli-. ciently hot to complete the forming of the letter. It will be observed that the flames from the oppositely disposed burners will pass up along the curved top of the furnace, and will then meet and be deflected downwardly on the die. On account of this arrangement, the die with the glass plate thereon may be quickly and uniformly heated throughout. It will be noted, however, that the flames are directed upon the glass, which will protect the top of the mold sufliciently to prevent the mold from becoming heated enough so that the glass will stick thereto. As soon as the glass plate reaches a suflicientl y high degree of' temperature so that it may be readily bent, the portions thereof over the grooves 23 will tend to sag into the grooves, as illustrated in Fig. 8.

One or more male die members are preferably used for completing the forming of the letter. These die members are preferably made so that each member will form a sec tion of the letter, and these members are secured to handles, whereby the operator may manipulate the same. One of such die members 25 is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. This -.member is secured to the end of a handle 26.

' line of the letter E. When the glass plate has become sufliciently hot, the operator opens the slide or window 20 and inserts the die member 25, and presses down on the corresponding portion of the glass, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to form that portion of the letter, and then utilizes other similar die members for completing the letter. It will of course be observed that the entire letter or other article to be formed may in some instances be completed with a single male die member. In actual operation, the die with the glass thereon is allowed to heat for approximately five minutes before the letter is completed, and then the die with the letter thereon is removed from the furnace and placed in an open receptacle 27, which is provided in connection with the furnace 9 and is preferably located immediately below the burners, this receptacle being made of some suitable non-combustible, and preferably non-conducting material, so that it will become heated and will retain its heat for a considerable length of time. The die with the letter thereon is ordinarily left in this cooling chamber for about an hour, when the letter may be removed from the die and is ready for use.

By means of my improved apparatus and method, it will be readily seen that glass letters of the character indicated may be readily and quickly formed in the furnace, with but little loss of heat and with little likelihood of cracking or injuring the glass plate, either during the heating and forming process or during the cooling. The form of the furnace and the arrangement of the burners therein is of particular importance in providing a uniform heat for the die and the glass plate from which the letter or other article is to be formed.

Having thus described my invention, which, however, I do not wish to limit to the exact construction or arrangement or method herein set forth, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Means for forming letters or the like of glass, comprising a die member for supporting a sheet of glass, and having grooves or recesses therein conforming to the letter or mark to be formed, none of which grooves or recesses extend to the periphery of the die member, and a second die member conforming in cross-section to the grooves or recesses having a handle thereon and adapted to be pressed down on the glass, for pressing the heated glass into the grooves of the first die member.

2. An apparatus for forming glass letters or the like, comprising a thin metallic female die member adapted to support a sheet of glass, and having a depression therein male die members corresponding to the shape of the depression and having handles, Whereshaped to make the letter to be formed and by they may be pressed into engagement with the glass when the die is in the furnace, each of said male die members being adapted to form a portion only of the letter.

EUGENE C. GMELIN. 

